LDS regionwide conference to be held in Minot

Split of western administrative church structure anticipated

April 26, 2014

Western North Dakota members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will welcome a leader from the First Quorum of the Seventy with the church for a regionwide conference to be held in Minot. The conference is open to everyone and will take place at the Minot Municipal Auditorium on May 4 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Elder Shayne M. Bowen of the First Quorum of the Seventy will lead the meeting, where it is anticipated that a new stake will be formed, dividing the existing Bismarck, North Dakota Stake. Incredible membership growth in the western half of North Dakota has caused congregations, typically 100 to 350 members in size, to grow from 10 groups three years ago to 16 groups today.

"What we have experienced over the past couple of years is truly amazing. Starting in about 2011, we have gone from under 3,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to more than 6,500 in western North Dakota," Timothy Cox, stake president of the Bismarck, North Dakota Stake, said.

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Elder Shayne Bowen

"Splitting our stake, or group of congregations, into two separate administrative structures will allow us to better serve the needs of the members and continue to grow our faith in this part of North Dakota," he added.

New leadership for the soon-to-be-formed stake will come from those currently living in the region, and, like all leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ, will be unpaid volunteers.

Fact Box

What is a stake?

Congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are organized geographically and members attend worship services near their home. Each member belongs to a stake, which is similar to a Catholic diocese. The leader of a stake is called the stake president.